Upper Township Resident Receives
Governor’s Special Award
 Photo
caption: Accepting on behalf of the New Jersey Air National Guard, Upper
Township resident Brigadier General Eugene Chojnacki, Vice Commander, Headquarters,
New Jersey Air National Guard, received the New Jersey Governor’s Air &
Space Award from Governor James E. McGreevey (left), Commander-in-Chief
of the New Jersey National Guard, at the Annual Military Review held at
the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, N.J., on Sept. 29.
The award was presented to the New Jersey Air National Guard for outstanding
achievement in aviation for 2002.
Background on the Award: Immediately following
the first attack on Sept. 11, F-16 aircraft and crews of the 177th Fighter
Wing were mobilized to fly CAP (combat air patrol) missions in the skies
over the northeast quadrant of North America to include New York City and
Washington, D.C. KC-135 Strato-tanker aircraft and crews from the
108th Air Refueling Wing have been providing in-flight refueling to U.S.
Air Force, NATO, and other allied aircraft in support of the ongoing war
against terror in Afghanistan, UN Peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia,
and aircraft enforcing the “no-fly” zone over Iraq. Personnel from
the 108th also provided support and equipment to the rescue and recovery
efforts at Ground Zero following the crash of the first hijacked airplane
into the World trade Center.
The Award Selection Committee, comprised of six members
of the civil aviation community, decided that a special presentation of
this annual award would be made to the 108th Air Refueling Wing, New Jersey
Air National Guard, and the 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National
Guard in recognition of their outstanding contributions to national defense
and Homeland Security following Sept. 11. In past years, the medal
and accompanying plaque representing this prestigious award were both given
to the individual or organization receiving the award. This year,
the plaque was presented to the New Jersey Air National Guard for outstanding
achievement in aviation in 2002. Separate award medals were presented
to the 108th and the 177th.
This Governor’s Air & Space Award was made into law
on January 10, 1996 and replaced an earlier award that had not been given
since 1946. The statute provides that “each year during the month
of May, Aviation Awareness Month, an award shall be presented by the Governor
or a designee, in a public ceremony, to an individual currently or formerly
residing in this state, or to an organization located in the state of New
Jersey, in recognition of the individual’s or organization’s outstanding
achievement in aeronautics or space exploration.” |
